Ukraine's forces advance in northern Donetsk region and clear new settlements: details of Operation Vivaldi
Ukraine's Defense Forces are continuing their offensive in northern Donetsk region as part of Operation Vivaldi. Over the past week, Ukrainian troops have advanced in the Lyman sector, liberated and cleared several settlements, and continue to move forward in the area.
Petro Horbatenko, chief of staff and deputy commander of the Third Army Corps, said this in an interview with Suspilne Studiya.
According to him, the first stage of Operation Vivaldi is currently underway, involving troops from the Third Army Corps and other Defense Forces units operating in the Lyman sector.
Horbatenko noted that Russian military losses — killed, wounded, and captured — are exceeding the expected figures.
"We have also continued our advance over the past week. Accordingly, we will soon provide you with more details about the operation and new results regarding its successes. We are continuing to move forward. What was announced was one figure, and it will increase over time," Horbatenko said.
Which settlements have been liberated
The military official said Ukrainian units have achieved new results, but some information is not being disclosed yet. According to him, new details about the advances and liberated settlements will be provided when it is possible to make them public.
So far, the liberation of Serednie has been officially confirmed. In addition, Ukrainian forces have cleared Korovii Yar, Novoselivka, Yarova, and Oleksandrivka. According to Horbatenko, the troops also managed to clear Rai-Oleksandrivka during the offensive.
"There are also other liberated villages, but we are not naming them because we cannot afford not to take advantage of the enemy's stupidity and its own deception. So for now, we have to keep some things secret," he said.
According to the deputy commander of the Third Army Corps, Russian forces are attempting to counter the advanceof the Defense Forces. In particular, Russian forces are deploying special forces units to this area. However, according to Horbatenko, this is not producing the results they expected.
"The enemy in this area has been defeated and is disorganized. They are trying to deploy special forces units there to close the breakthrough, simply grinding them down as 'meat' without achieving any success," the deputy commander added.
At the same time, Russian forces continue to carry out infantry attacks and strike areas in the rear. Cities in Kharkiv and Donetsk regions, in particular, have come under attack. Horbatenko noted that Russian tactics have generally remained unchanged.
"Russian tactics have generally not changed. It is simply meat-grinder assaults, as well as massive strikes on areas in the rear, especially large population centers with many civilians, such as Izium, Balakliia, Sloviansk, and Kramatorsk. The enemy is carrying out missile and bomb strikes, using aircraft and Shahed drones," he said.
What is known about Ukraine's offensive
As previously reported, in August, Ukrainian forces liberated another 2 square kilometers of forested area in Kharkiv region from Russian occupation. The area is located southwest of Zapadne, near Kupiansk. After clearing the territory, the Defense Forces continued advancing west of Dvorichna.
The Defense Forces are also continuing combat operations in Dnipropetrovsk region. Ukrainian troops are liberating settlements from Russian forces, but have not yet fully restored control over the region — the area around Dachne remains under occupation.
On September 15, it was reported that Ukrainian forces launched counteroffensive operations in northern Donetsk region. As part of Operation Vivaldi, units of the Third Army Corps eliminated pockets of Russian infiltration across 75 square kilometers of territory and liberated another 10 square kilometers.
